1. I've mentioned this before, but just in case you have forgotten, in my apartment my shower takes up my whole bathroom. This is an asian thing apparently.
2. Our current work bathroom situation is that we share with all the students that have newly moved upstairs. Currently this means only 24 5-6 year olds, but as of March 2 it will be 60 4-6 year olds. The only time we will have to use our bathroom is the same time the kids are in there washing their hands. Not looking forward to that. I feel worse for the boys though. Sharing urinals with those little guys will most certainly be awkward...especially with the female Korean helper teachers in and out of there all the time.
3. Free public bathrooms are relatively plentiful, but you often have to provide your own TP. Accordingly, small travel sized TP packets are easy to buy, like travel size Kleenex at home.
4. If a restaurant is just part of a much larger building they won't have their own bathroom. You'll have to leave the restaurant and walk down a hallway. Again, this bathroom won't have TP, but the restaurant will have a roll sitting by the door before you leave.
5. You aren't supposed to flush the TP. It has to do with trying to be easy on the septic system. Instead there is just a trash can overflowing with used TP next to the toilet. Not my favorite aspect of the whole situation.
6. The classier restrooms have a button in the stall labeled "etiquette button" in english. Depending on where you are, when pushed it will emit a loud and long flushing sound or birds singing in order to "politely" cover any unpleasant digestive distress you may be having. Amazing.
*warning: this one gets ever so slightly graphic
7. Many public bathrooms have what we lovingly call "squatters", also an asian thing. It looks like a urinal laying flat on the ground. I'm sad to admit that it took my a couple of months to truly master these little guys. I was trying to do more of a hovering wall sit, when really you just want to get right in there and get down like a baseball catcher. This little tutorial (and it was a tutorial) changed my view of this phenomenon totally. It's quite nice to be comfortably not be touching anything and flush with your foot. I highly recommend it.
This sign is from our China trip. If I had seen this picture earlier I may have caught on a little bit faster....
2 comments:
Reminds me of my first trip to the Philippines post-diapers. "Aim for the hole? You're kidding, right?"
Michele, you find these in Russia, too. My first reaction was also "You're kidding, da?" But no. I don't miss those. The "nice ones" even came complete with no-slip treads on either side of the hole. In some public potties, you bought TP before you go in. I was not aware of this. Carrying Klernex in my purse was the smartest thing I did while abroad! :-)
Steph
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